ATHENS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The trial over the deadly Tempi rail disaster opened on Monday in the central Greek city of Larissa, nearly three years after the country's worst railway tragedy claimed 57 lives and left dozens injured.
Proceedings are being held in a specially adapted courtroom at the University of Thessaly Conference Centre, configured to accommodate the scale of the case. This marks the first public trial related to the 2023 Tempi rail disaster and the beginning of large-scale judicial accountability in Greece for the incident. A total of 36 defendants are on trial, while more than 350 witnesses, including survivors and relatives of the victims, are expected to testify in hearings projected to last more than two years.
The disaster occurred on Feb. 28, 2023, when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train, triggering a massive fireball that engulfed several carriages. Most of the victims were young people returning to university after the holidays. Investigators later pointed to a series of systemic failures across Greece's railway network.
Those facing charges include officials from key railway bodies, such as operator Hellenic Train, the supervisory authority, and the transport ministry, as well as the station master on duty that night. The charges stem from a 2.5-year investigation into railway safety, focusing on non-functioning signaling systems, inadequate remote train management, faulty radio communications, and delays in completing critical infrastructure projects.
Prosecutors allege that essential safety upgrades remained incomplete at the time of the crash. Additional accusations include failure to impose speed limits and insufficient oversight of railway operations along the affected section of track.
None of the defendants is currently in custody, and no political figures are among those on trial. Families of the victims have expressed anger over what they describe as attempts to cover up evidence, while the government denies wrongdoing and has pledged reforms to modernize Greece's rail system by 2027.
"The real culprits should go to prison. Unfortunately, the transport minister at the time is absent. He should have been on trial today, along with other senior officials from Hellenic Train," said Pavlos Aslanidis, president of the association representing victims' families, who lost his son Dimitris in the disaster.
"There is no indictment for the fire or the explosion. Twenty-eight children were burned, and no one has been charged for that. But the trial must begin, and all the evidence must gradually come to light," he added.
"The politicians are missing from the list of defendants. We will do everything we can to ensure that those on trial are held accountable and end up where they belong - in prison," said Nikos Platias, who lost his twin daughters.
Outside the courtroom, demonstrators, including labor union members, student groups, and civil society organizations, gathered to call for accountability and safer public transport. Rail services were suspended on Monday as the Panhellenic Railway Federation staged a nationwide 24-hour strike. ■